Lehr drive for sheet glass machines



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Patented Nov. 26, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE LEER DRIVE FUR SHEET GLASS MACHINES William Gwen, Pittsburgh, Pa., assignor to Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company, Allegheny County, Pa., a. corporation of Pennsylvania Application september ze, 1937, serial No. 166,267

5 claims. (ci. 49-17) The invention relates to a lehr drive for sheet continuously through the lehr casing and cut glass machines, such as those employed in the off in sections in the usual manner, and the draw- Fourcault and Slinglui processes, involving the ing is accomplished by the series of pairs of use of a series of pairs of rolls in a vertical lehr rolls I carried by the shafts II, which are prefcasing which grip the glass sheet between the 7erably hollow to permit air or water cooling, the 5 members of each pair and provide the traction//rolls being preferably of the usual asbestos comnecessary for drawing the sheet continuously/ position. Each roll shaft has keyed to each end from a bath of molten glass in a foreheartl.` a spur gear I2 and beneath each pair of spur In accordance with the present practicej/ the gears is a pair of intermeshing spur gears I3 l0 rolls on one side of the sheet are mounted in which engage the gears I2 and take the weight 10 fixed bearings, while the rolls on the other side of the rolls. The gears I3 are mounted upon are carried in movable bearings pressed inward pins I4 welded or otherwise secured to bars Ma by Weighted bell crank levels, thus providing (Figs. 4 and 5) which are bolted to the end walls yielding pressure between the members of each of the casing. Greaseless bearings for the gears 1l pair and permitting the drawing of glass sheets I3 are provided in the form of bushings I6 and 15 of different thicknesses. each gear I3 has secured to its outer end the The main objects of the present invention are sprocket I'I. The sprockets at one end of the the provision of improved and simplified means casing are engaged and driven by the chain I8 for supporting and driving the rolls wherein, (Fig. 1) while those on the other end are driven (1) the pressure between the rolls of each pair by a similar chain I9 (Fig. 2). The chains pass 20 is automatically controlled by the traction which around sprockets 20 at their upper ends keyed the rolls are applying to the sheet being drawn, to the countershaft 2| and this countershaft is so that no weights or springs are required with driven from the motor 22 through the intermefthe attendant adjustment heretofore necessidiary of the chain A2? which passes around a 25 tated, (2) the drive is smooth and uniform and sprocket on the shaft of the motor reducer 24 25 no working bearings exposed to the directl heat and a. sprocket 25 which is also keyed to the shaft of the lehr are required, permitting bearings of 2l. Means are thus provided for driving the rolls the greaseless type to be employed throughout, from both ends so that any roll twist, such as (3) the parts are easily assembled and` disasoccurs when rolls are driven from one end is sembled permitting the ready replacement of the avoided. This is not an essential, however, as 30 rolls when wasting away of the relativelyusoft roll vit is possiblevto 4drive from one endof the rolls surfaces calls for such replacements, (4) the rolls only in accordance with the usual practice. are driven from both ends thus avoiding roll The gears I2`which are keyed to the roll shafts twist, (5) the rolls throughout the lehr may be II are preferably fiangedas indicated in Fig. 5,

separated automatically by merely reversing the so that they are kept in proper alignment with 35 drive, when it is desired to pass a bait downthe gears I3 and only a slight amount of endward through the lehr for initiating the draw, Wise movement of the rolls is permitted. The and (6) the weight and cost of the equipment shafts II are provided at each end thereof with is materially decreased, as compared withstruca greaseless metallic bushing or bearing 26 (Fig.

4d tures heretofore proposed. Certain embodiments 5) in which the shaft has a loose` running iit. 40 of the invention are illustrated in the accom- These bushings are preferably in two parts sepanying drawings, wherein: cured together by means of the bolts 21 and f Figure 1 is a partial end elevation of the apare provided with flanges to prevent their endparatus. Fig. 2 is a partial side elevation and wise movement relative to the casing. lThey are partial section. Fig. 3 is a section at two elevanot mounted directly in the casing walls 8, but tions on the line III-HI of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is an are carried by removable plates 28 secured to enlarged partial end elevation with the chain the casing wall by means of bolts 29. These sprockets removed. Fig. 5 is asection on the plates 28 are of such' size'that when they are line V-V of Fig. 4. And Fig. 6 is a detail secdetached, the rolls may be removed endwise tion illustrating a modification. through the space provided thus permitting ready 50 The lehr casing which is mounted over the replacement. The bushings 26 are free to move bath of glass (not shown) comprises the side freely toward and from the line of draw due to walls l, l and the end walls 8. 8, the latter servthe fact that Ithey are mounted in the oblong ing as the support for the rolls and their drvslots 30, 30, as indicated in Fig. 4. 'Ihe drive of ing mechanism. The glass sheet 9 is drawn up the intermeshing gears I3 from the chains I8 55 and I9 is, as indicated by the arrows in Fig. 4,

which gives the drawing rolls I a movement of rotation, also as indicated by the arrows, thus providing an upward lift upon the glass sheet 9.

It will be noted that' the axes of rotation of the gears I3 are spaced apart a greater distance than the axes of rotation of the rolls. The "drive of the rolls from the gears I3 thus tends to force the rolls toward each other. The grip: of the rolls upon the glass sheet is, therefore, regulated automatically, the pressure upon the sheet in-l creasing with the resistance to the draw, and as a result, no other means are required for forcing the rolls toward each other, such as weights and springs which have heretofore beenrequired in connection with drawing rolls as used in the' When it is.

desired to separate the drawing rolls to permit,

Fourcault and Slingluff processes.

the passage of abait downward therebetween to initiate the drawing operation all that vis necessary is to reverse the direction of movement of the rchains1l8 and I9. This will cause the gears I2 .to roll outward upon the supporting gears I3,

such outward movement being limited by the ends of the slots 30, 30. v

In some cases, it is desirable tofseparate the pairsy of rolls successively during the, upward movement of the sheet in order'to avoid breakage due to stones in the glass'and in order to provide for this condition, cam means are provided for each pair of rolls which are manually operated. One of these cams is shown in Figs. 4 r

the handle 33. These cams are required at only one end of the rolls. Anywear upon the bush-H ings 26 is very slightsince the weight of the rolls is taken by the gears I3 which engage the f gears I2 on the ends of the roll shafts. It is,

therefore, feasible to use greaseless bearingsl which are not exposed vto the heat and which require no attention.

If desired, the work of supporting the rolls may f be removed from the interengaging teeth of the 'gears I2 and I3 byran expedient, such'as indi- 1 cated in'Fig.'6, wherein vthe gear I2 is provided with a flange 35` which' rests 'uponaiange 36 integral with the gear I3. `Theperipheral div`arneter of these anges-corresponds to the pitch vdiameter of the two gears so that the gears `are 'left in normal driving engagement, 'but at the vsame'time the load is 'removed therefrom. 1 In this case, an inner ange is provided. upon the gear I2 in the form of a plate 3'I`which is welded tothe inner face of the gear. In order to avoid I9,these chains pass vat their lower ends around sprockets 38, whosejournals are adjustable' downward by suitable take-up mechanism, such as th'e bolts 39 in the frame 40, this beingan expedient well known in the art and requiring no specific description. 'I'he sprockets 38 are carried by the same cross shaft v4I (Fig.v 2) mounted as indicated in Fig.' 2. Wheny it is desired to' iix the'position of the rollson one side of the line of draw, this may be accomplished by using circular 'perforationsr for the bushings 26 instead of the oblong slots 30, or by putting ller members in the slots to hold the of draw. Such a construction, with only the rolls on one side of the line of draw movable, will operate satisfactorily. In such case, the shape ofthe cams 3| are modified so that they will act only on the bushings of the movable rolls.

The advantages incident to the structure have been stated heretofore and will be readily apparent to thoseeskilled in the art 'from a consideration of the foregoing specification in con-v nection with the drawings.'

mounted in iixed bearings at eachl end of the pair`of rolls on axes parallel tothe axes of the rolls'and therebeneath in such position that they engage the spur gears on the ends of the rolls lying thereabove and take the weight of the rolls,

:and means for' driving'one, pair of said intermeshing gears, the axes of rotation of the intermeshing gears being spaced apart on opposite sides of the 'line of draw o f the sheet a distancev greater than the' distance separating the axes of rotation of the rolls, said gears all being 1ocated von the exterior of the casing.

2. In combination-in a vertical lehr for drawing and annealing a glass sheet, a casing, a pair rof opposing horizontal rolls therein adapted to mounted in fixed bearingsv vat each end of the pair ofrolls on axes parallel to the axes of the rolls andtherebeneath in such rposition that they engage the spur gears on the ends of the rolls lying thereabove and take the weight of the rolls, and means for driving both pairs vof said intermeshing gears, the axes of rotation of the intermeshing gears being spaced apart on opposite sides of the line of draw of the sheet a distance greater lthan the distance separating the axes of rotation of the rolls, said gears all being located on the exterior of the casing.

3. In combination in a vertical lehr for drawf in opposed sides thereof, a pair of opposing horizontal rolls movable freely toward and away from eachother in said' guides and adapted to grip the glass sheettherebetween, a spur gear secured to each end of each roll, a pair of inter-l meshingspur gears mounted in fixed bearings at "each end of thel pair of rolls on axes parallel to l y -the axes of the rolls and` therebeneath in such any backlash in the drive by the chains I8 and position that theyengage the spur gears on the ends of the'rolls lying thereabove and take the weight ofthe rolls, and means for' driving one pair of said intermeshing gears, the'axes' of rotation vof the intermeshing gears being spaced ,apart on opposite sides of *thel line of draw of thev sheet a distance greater than the distance separating the vaxes of Arotation of therolls, said y being located on the -exterior of the .y

bushings against movement away from the liner is mounted for free movement toward and from 75 the other roll, a spur gear secured to each end of each roll, a pair of intermeshing spur gears mounted in xed bearings at each end of the pair of rolls on axes parallel to the axes of the rolls and therebeneath in such position that they engage the spur gears on the ends of the rolls lying thereabove, cam means pivoted on the casing for moving one end of the movable roll away from the other roll, and means for driving one pair of said intermeshing gears, the axgs of rotation of the intermeshing gears being spaced apart on opposite sides of the line of draw of the sheet a distance greater than the distance separating the axes of rotation oi.' the rolls.

5. In combination in a vertical lehr for drawing and annealing a glass sheet, a casing, a pair of opposing horizontal rolls therein adapted to grip the glass sheet therebetween, a bushing at each end of one roll in which such roll is journalled mounted for sliding movement in the casing toward and from the other roll, a spur gear secured to each end of each roll, a pair of intermeshing spur gears mounted in fixed bearings at each end of the pair oi rolls on axes parallel to the axes of the rolls and therebeneath in such position that they engage the spur gears on the ends of the rolls lying thereabove and take the weight of the rolls, and means for driving one pair off said intermeshing gears, the axes of rotation of the intermeshing gears being spaced apart on opposite sides of the line of draw of the sheet a distance greaterithan the distance separating the axes of rotation of the rol1s,said gears all being located on the exterior of the casing.

WILLIAM OWEN. 

